Growth
by C-May-T
Summary: In a world overrun by walkers it is easy to lose the person you once were and forget that living is much different to surviving. Can someone who has slowly lost herself to the new world, learn to accept that life is more than just 'not dying' and maybe find herself again on the way?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Grady Memorial Hospital

Amelia was sweeping the floor when the new patient had been rushed in. She only caught a glimpse of blonde hair and a stained yellow blouse before the patient was whisked away from her view. This wasn't new to her, but there was something about her that intrigued her. But sticking to the rules, she simply went back to sweeping the floor like the well behaved patient she was.

Amelia was a petite 21 year old, only reaching a height of 5ft 2", and she had short, stark white hair that reached just past her shoulders. Before the outbreak people would complement her on it, some would be shocked when she told them that it was 'completely natural', there had been many a time when people had likened her to a character in a book or film. Now, with the world gone to shit, people didn't talk much about appearances, people made passing comments obviously because it was a rare hair colour but the days of vanity were pretty much over.

Three days later found her sweeping the floors again, but this time a fellow patient by the name of Noah was helping her out. He was lean figured and had a sharp sense of humour, even at the worst of times and the pair had quickly formed a close bond of friendship.

"What happened the other day?" Amelia asked gently. Noah was the right hand man almost, to the leading officer in charge of Grady and she knew that if Noah were to say something he shouldn't then he'd be in serious trouble. It wasn't a rare occurrence for a new patient to be brought in, but there was never anything else to talk about. She didn't care enough about the other patients to gossip about them so the most interesting topic she could think of was new arrivals. He looked around slightly, his eyes searching for any eavesdropping ears and when satisfied that there was none he stopped sweeping to lean on his broom casually.

"Apparently they found her alone in some kind of funeral home. Surrounded by walkers." His voice was quiet to avoid the sound from carrying down the empty corridors. He had said the words with an edge of sarcasm that let Amelia know that he didn't believe a word of it.

"But you don't believe that?" She prodded. She was intelligent enough herself to know that Noah's suspicious attitude towards the hospital and the workings of the people in power, wasn't misplaced. There was something off about the whole system. He simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to sweeping. Dropping her brush to the floor she folded her arms across her chest. Understanding that she wasn't accepting his silence as an answer Noah rolled his eyes, giving in to her stubborn nature.

"They say she was alone, but this girl says she was with a guy who she called Daryl-"

"Do you believe her?"

"Yeah, and she's pretty nice" Amelia's eyebrows quirked up at that, knowing exactly what Noah was planning. "You want her to come with us?" She asked, voice devoid of emotion to avoid showing how she felt about the situation. A short pause from Noah was the only answer she needed and she knew there was no point arguing about it. She simply picked up her brush and went back to her job.

Thinking back to a group she had come across before she was taken to Grady, Amelia shuddered. She had yet to come across a truly decent group of human beings. At the start she had been with her family, until all that was left of that group was her and her older brother. They had been separated about 2 years after the initial outbreak and she had been alone for a couple of months before the group had found her. They displayed kindness at first, they built up her trust but within a couple of weeks they had shown her their true intentions. The last thing she remembered before waking up in Grady was being chased by one of the men, fearing for her life.

They carried on sweeping the floors, breaking the silence by asking the other person a riddle and waiting for the other to answer, a habit they had both got into during their shifts doing meaningless chores such as the one they were doing then.

"What room can no one enter?" Noah asked, a sly smirk on his face determined that this would be the riddle that Amelia can't answer. She always got there eventually whereas he had given up a few times. It was like a competition they had going on, and it was one of the only things that had kept them sane half the time.

"A mushroom. It's like you're not even trying" Amelia giggled. Noah punched her arm lightly in a playful manner but they both stopped when they saw the new girl emerge from round the corner. She stopped her steps when she saw them.

"Hey" Noah waved and Amelia smiled politely. "What's up?" The girl looked pale and was holding dirty clothes in her hands. "Shit!" he exclaimed as realisation dawned on him that he was meant to have finished sweeping and gone to the laundry room, his main job. "Let me guess, you forgot about the laundry room job?" Amelia questioned. She knew what he was like at remembering the little tasks Dawn had set for them.

The new girl stood quietly watching as the strangers conversed, the female seemed to find the situation amusing whereas the male seemed to be slightly panicking. "Are you Noah?" The girl asked, both heads turning to the sound. "yeah, this is Amelia-"

"Amy is fine" She smiled, the girl didn't seem to be a threat although she couldn't call her trustworthy enough to allow her to help them. The girl smiled back slightly at her and gave an appreciative nod to Noah when he walked over and took the dirty clothes from her hands.

"I'm Beth. Thank you for the Lollipop as well" She murmered at Noah. Amelia's ears perked up at that. "He gave you a Lollipop?" She exclaimed with an exaggerated sigh. "And just like that, our friendship is over" She directed to the boy. Beth watched the exchange with amused eyes, almost calculating whether the two people were friendly or untrustworthy just like the rest of the people she had met since she had woken up.

Noah turned to Beth with a roll of his eyes and explained that Amelia had been pestering him for some sweets for almost 2 weeks now. "I think she might even be serious about the ending of our friendship" Noah said receiving a hearty chuckle from Amelia and a small giggle from Beth. Since Beth's appearance Amelia had swept the rest of the corridor. She made her way over to Noah and Beth who were talking about how he had given her the lollipop as a little 'pick me up' and she smiled to herself. She could see Noah already starting to like the girl and she saw that the girl was warming to him as well. She scoffed to herself when she heard Beth ask why Joan, a patient, couldn't just leave.

"I haven't seen it work like that yet." She said, shaking her head. People had to work for their keep around here and if they wanted to leave they'd be rewarded with a nice big debt that was pretty much impossible to pay off in today's world because money was now worthless.

"How long have you been here?" Beth asked them both.

"About a year and a half maybe." Amelia replied.

"Roughly a year" Noah said. "Dad and I were both pretty messed up when they found us. They said that they could only save one. For the longest time, I actually believed them. Now I get it. Dad was bigger, stronger. Would have fought back. Would have been a threat.

"They left him behind on purpose and Dawn just looked the other way" Amelia muttered anger tainting her voice. She hadn't known Noah's dad, but she knew Noah. He was the closest thing she had to a best friend now and she knew how the treatment of his Dad had affected him. "See, she's in charge, but just barely. And it's getting worse."

"It's why we're out of here when the time is right" Noah added. Amelia would have scolded him for relaying their plans to someone they didn't think they could trust, they barely knew Beth, but she knew that this girl was less likely to snitch than anyone else. She probably hated the place almost as much as they did. "We're gonna back and find my mum" Noah mused reminiscently.

"Where's home?" Beth asked, genuinely interested in what they were telling her.

"Richmond. Virginia. We had walls" He said with as much passion as he could. Amelia's heart clenched, just like it did every time Noah spoke of home. She wanted to believe his family were safe even though she knew that the chances were low. She wanted him to be right for the sake of his happiness. He's my best friend.

"They think we're weak.." Amelia interrupted. "… but they don't know shit about us. Or about you." She knew that she had pretty much just invited the girl to help them and escape with them but she could care less. Three people was better than two she just hoped they were making the right decision.

 _ **A/N:- So this is my first time writing and publishing any kind of fanfiction. I am way too obsessed with the character Daryl Dixon and i found that writing this helped with the wait between new updates on my favourite Dixon fanfiction. Be nice and feel free to leave any 'd be highly appreciated :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

Amelia had been anxious about telling Beth their plans, worried Dawn might find out, but 24 hours had passed and no one had mentioned a thing. _She's trustworthy._ Tying her damp white hair into a loose bun at the nape of her neck and putting her shoes on, she walked out of her bleak hospital room. The room had felt more like a prison cell to her and she wished to spend as little time in there as she could get away with. The whitewashed walls only made the place seem harsh and the faint smell of hospital was a stench she wished she could get rid of.

She wandered aimlessly down the corridors, not quite ready to start her chores for the day. The sound of Gorman, one of the seedier officers in the hospital who liked to use women for his own pleasure whether they be willing or not, could be heard. He was talking to someone in their room.

"Lose something? This is yours, ain't it?" There was a short pause "Mmm. Sour apple" _The same lollipop Noah gave to Beth_ Amelia thought to herself, her eyes narrowing on the open door. She couldn't stop her feet from taking her into the room. She found Gorman within inches of Beth and she could feel the fear and anxiety that radiated from the girl.

"What the fuck are you doing?" She hissed, eyes narrowing at the man. "Get away from her." She ordered only to receive a sharp laugh in reply. His laughter only increased her anger even more.

"Are you jealous? Is it because I don't pay you many visits anymore?" His eyes gleamed with a sick sense of satisfaction as he saw the white haired girl visibly shaking with anger.

"Fuck you" She whispered menacingly. Her voice carried promises of revenge. She wanted to punch him until her knuckles bled and until his face was covered in a mixture of his own blood and hers. It was then that Dawn entered a curious look on her face.

"Gorman" She ordered and he smirked at Amelia as he left the room. Dawn remained there for a few seconds longer looking between the two girls before leaving to follow Gorman.

"Thanks" Beth broke the silence and Amelia managed to put a small smile on her face in return. She was still angry but Gorman had that effect on her. _Perverted sack of no good shit_ she thought to herself. "Don't mention it." She waved it off. In her opinion she hadn't done anything worth being thanked for. "Just make sure you stay as far from him as possible." Beth simply nodded her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Me and Noah are doing some more sweeping today, you can join us if you want?" She offered. It wasn't everyday she invited people along.

"I can't. Dr Edwards said he wanted to see me today. He wants me to help him." Nodding in understanding Amelia smiled and walked off down the corridor to meet Noah.

He was already waiting when she arrived, a brush in each hand. "What can you catch but now throw?" He inquired, smirking when she tried to reach for her brush only for him to remove it from her reach. "A cold." She said smugly and with a frustrated sigh and a playful sneer Noah handed her the brush. "Can you not just let me win at least once?" He whined and she could only reply with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Edwards is taking Beth under his wing." She stated casually, sweeping the floor that was already perfectly clean. It seemed pointless sweeping clean floors when people were fighting for their lives outside. It was almost as if the end of the world wasn't happening. She could almost pretend that she was simply a patient in a psych ward, who had only hallucinated about the dead taking over.

"Rather be his right hand man than sweeping up floors and folding trousers all day" her companion muttered. She couldn't agree more. She wanted to do something that made her feel useful. What she was doing now only made her feel like a hindrance. Noah was Dawn's assistant pretty much, and the new girl had become a vital member to Dr Edwards. She was stuck with sweeping up a floor that didn't even need sweeping. She didn't have a purpose here.

"Make sure Gorman stays away from her. I found him in her room earlier." She said receiving a concerned look from Noah. "He stole her lollipop" She added as an afterthought. She didn't want Noah making a fuss about it. She hadn't told him about any of the stuff that had happened to her, not with Gorman anyway, but she could only assume that he had an idea. "Imagine you are in a dark room. How do you get out?" She changed that subject and was thankful when Noah accepted it.

He contemplated the riddle before smiling at Amelia "You open the door". He seemed so smug and happy that she almost didn't want to tell him he was completely wrong. She laughed to herself as she replied "No, you stop imagining. For a second there I thought you had it." She giggled at his affronted expression. The two carried on like that until Noah had to leave.

An hour or so later, Amelia was once again walking through the empty corridors searching for something to do. Her small feet barely made any noise as she walked quietly to avoid any unwanted attention. She was about to turn left down the corridor when a commotion to the right caught her attention. She saw Noah thrown onto the floor outside the room and her feet ran forward desperate to reach him.

Amelia raced across the clean floors. Her feet making more sound now than they were before. Before she could reach him, an officer punched him in his face. "Stop!" She screamed, pulling at the man attacking her best friend. She clawed at his face and grabbed at his arms for him to stop. Eventually he did. When he turned around she realised her mistake. Gorman stood before her, his face slightly bloodied from her nails. She wanted smile at her handiwork but knew that would only result in much more serious consequences. She was in deep enough shit as it was.

"Dawn.." He gasped clutching his face after she emerged from the hospital room. "She- She attacked me" His voice was shaky, probably to gain sympathy from the woman in charge but Amelia only rolled her eyes. Dawn looked wide eyed between the two figures. One looking as though he was in pain and scared, the other looking like she couldn't care less.

"They're superficial." She shrugged when Dawn looked to her for an explanation. "He was beating Noah, more than likely under your command." She glared at the woman. Dawn was used to the girls outbursts of hatred toward various members of staff, especially Gorman and herself so she didn't look surprised.

"Gorman, take her to her room." Dawn instructed turning away from the sight of Amelia being dragged away by the brute of an officer. Amelia shook her head at Noah when he tried to get up and help and the last thing she saw before she was dragged around the corner was Noah, with a desperate look on his face, slumping down onto the floor.

 _ **A/N; Sorry for the slow update, college work has taken over my life. Hope you are enjoying this story and updates will become more frequent (If all goes to plan)**_


	3. Chapter 3

Gorman threw her onto the floor in her room and she landed hard onto her knees. He closed her door and she knew then that what was going to happen next wasn't going to be pleasant. _It never is_ she mused to herself. "Are you gonna apologise?" He sneered down at her. Amelia let out a loud laugh at the man. "Not a chance in hell" she spat. Gorman, angered with her response, lunged forward, his fist connecting with her cheek. He continued his assault with an angered expression, his eyes almost glazed over with the extent of his anger. His fists flew everywhere and Amelia faintly felt her jaw crack. Before she could black out from the onslaught she heard the distinctive sound of his belt being unbuckled. She let out a quiet sob before she was turned onto her stomach. She closed her eyes and waited.

The sunlight of a new day woke Amelia up from her sleep. She could have sworn that she fell asleep, exhausted from the beating Gorman had given her, on the floor. She looked directly at the spot that was now clear from any blood or markings that she knew had been there last night. _Someone must have come in, tucked me and wiped away the evidence, wouldn't want people knowing what kind of officers were in charge here,_ she thought darkly. Her jaw was throbbing with an uncomfortable amount of pain and her cheek felt bruised. Gingerly bringing her hands up to her face she felt around for any stitches and sure enough there was. She must have had a large gash on her cheek because it needed 14 stitches. Edwards must have come in later than night to check the damage again, as he usually did. _Thanks Doc._

Amelia waited a few minutes before leaving her bed to get ready. Her body ached all over and her legs felt shaky as she stood, attempting to get changed for the day ahead. _Fuck spending one more day here._ Her body was littered with finger shaped bruises, especially her thighs, but she couldn't care less about her physical state. She was filled a sense of determination that she had never felt before and she needed to find Noah.

Noah was exactly where she assumed he would be. He was on the roof only this time he had company in the form of Beth. Her steps faltered slightly as she watched them both laugh not wanting to interrupt their conversation that seemed so happy. Noah noticed her though and she had to smile and carry on. Both of their expressions shifted quickly from happiness to shock.

"Is it that bad?" She tried to joke but neither of them found it funny. Sighing to herself, she waited for the inevitable interrogation that Noah was about to give her.

"Is this funny to you?" Noah's voice had a serious tone to it that made her pause. He was concerned for her, and she knew he blamed himself. She looked up into his eyes and noticed the cut on his lip and the black eye that she was certain had could from Gorman.

"I'm fine." She replied. "What the hell happened last night?" She exclaimed to the two people staring at her with concern. She wanted the conversation to move from her and this was how she had planned on doing it. It worked.

"There was a mistake with the medication and Tevitt, the patient from the other day, died" Beth explained. "Noah tried saving my ass" She smiled slightly at the boy who smiled back. Amelia looked between them with a knowing eye.

"Dawn knew I was lying so.." He pointed to his face.

"Dawn needed Tevitt for something." Beth interrupted as she saw Noah look guiltily at Amelia's battered face.

"Obviously. The only reason she brings people in is to use them to her advantage. Without the weak she may as well be dead" Amelia said, folded her arms across her chest. The trio looked between themselves. Each one knowing what the other was thinking.

"I'm coming with you." Beth finally said with a determined attitude. She wasn't taking no for an answer and Amelia could see that. She nodded at Noah and then they proceeded to explain in detail the plan they had been working on for almost 6 months.

"Basement's the fastest way out. Any noise and we got rotters." Noah said. They were stood huddled. "So we won't make noise." Beth added eagerly, certain that they could do that.

"I can keep an eye on Dawn." Amelia added. "I'll use the excuse that I can't do any of my jobs because of my injuries". Noah seemed unsure at her suggestion but when she looked at him with a determined expression he knew that if he refused she'd still do it and be in a shitty mood with him. "She keeps a spare key to the elevator banks somewhere in her office. Think you can find it?" Noah said and she nodded her head with a small smile. _I finally have a purpose._

"I can try and get some supplies. We're gonna need all we can get." Beth added and they all nodded satisfied with the plan.

Later that day found Noah sweeping the clean floors, Amelia having her injuries looked at and Beth attending to one of the patients. When Dr Edwards was satisfied with Amelia, she walked out the room, nodding secretively to Noah. She wandered down the hall, passing the room Beth was in, giving the same nod to her. She saw Beth sneak a bottle of what looked like painkillers into her pocket. She didn't stop walking until she reached Dawn's office. She let herself in and started rummaging through the drawers desperate to find the key.

A chuckle from the door made her head shoot up. Gorman stood, with his hands on his hips looking extremely pleased with himself. Gulping, Amelia turned back to looking for the key and found it just as Gorman made his way half way into the room.

"What are you doing?" He asked, a creepy smile etched on his face. Trying not to be repulsed by the man she slipped the key into the waistband of her knickers. "None of your business" Amelia replied haughtily, her nose scrunched up in distaste for the man. She couldn't deny that she was somewhat scared but she had handled him before, she could do it again. He crept closer to her and his smirk only widened as she moved back slightly.

"I won't tell Dawn that I saw you here" he whispered, his eyes staring into hers. _What's the catch?_ Amelia scoffed to herself. "But I need something in return." _There's the catch._ She smirked, amused by her own intelligence and he seemed to take that as an agreement on her part. He came closer, around the other side of the desk. He was only a few inches away and her hand itched for the glass bottle not far from her reach. She allowed him close enough to put his face by hers, his warm breath on her neck sending waves of repulsion running down her spine. As he was whispering in her ear about how he had treated Joan, she reached for the bottle and smashed it upon his head. He fell ungracefully, landing In a heap on the floor.

Turning towards the door she found a now dead Joan, looking for her first meal as a reanimated corpse. Amelia knelt down next to Gorman's body, stealing his pistol and picking up a large shard of glass that had once been a part of the bottle she had attacked Gorman with, she braced herself for the oncoming fight. She moved round the desk and acting fast as Joan was almost within reaching distance, she plunged the shard of glass into the skull of the corpse. She had to push harder than she expected, the corpse had only been dead for a little length of time so it hadn't started decaying yet. When she pulled the glass out of the skull, she dropped it to the floor next to the now completely dead corpse. The palm of her right hand had been cut by the glass and she had been too preoccupied to notice how deep and painful it truly was. Cursing to herself she made a haste exit out of the office, praying no one caught up to her.

She met Noah and Beth outside the elevator shaft and handed Noah the key. "What happened to your hand?" He asked with concern as he watched her rip a strip of her shirt and tie it around her wound. Noticing he was still looking at her rather than opening the elevator, Amelia sighed.

"Are you serious? Hurry the fuck up Noah." She exclaimed, exasperated. She still hadn't fully recovered from the beating she had taken the previous day and she was beginning to feel weak and tired. The added blood loss from her hand didn't help matters either.

Noah nodded his head and almost reluctantly opened the elevator shaft. Beth grabbed the rope they had created earlier in the day and secured it around a nearby pole. She nodded to both Beth and Amelia and Noah took his place on the floor holding the rope, acting as an anchor. Beth was the first to go down, Amelia following shortly behind. The rope had only irritated the wound on her hand but she ignored the pain. There was the beginnings of a commotion sounding from somewhere nearby in the hospital and she looked to Beth in fear. They had come too far to be caught now. They finally had hope.

Noah, sensing the danger that was quickly creeping up on them, started down the rope. Amelia watched with her heart in her throat as a walker appeared from behind a slightly open elevator door and attempted to grab Noah. He let go and landed painfully on his leg in the pile of dead bodies below them.

Amelia reached out her hand to Beth and she took it gladly as they both jumped in after them. The smell was foul and Amelia had to force herself not to vomit. There was something extremely wrong with pouncing on a bunch of dead people. The trio raced towards the exit door, and Amelia handed Beth the handgun she had picked off Gorman's body and in return Beth gave her the small bag of supplies she had managed to gather.

"Come on" Beth urged as they finally made it outside. Noah followed with a limp from where he landed on his leg and Amelia was close by, almost out of breath from the pain and tiredness she had acquired from her injuries over the last two days. They made it through a hole in the chain link fence and shortly after were faced with an oncoming group of reanimated corpses. People Amelia had met previous to the hospital had all had varying names for them, so she tended to stick to something that sounded more factual to avoid confusion for herself.

The sound of gunshots broke Amelia from her thoughts and she found Beth shooting as many walkers as she could. "Stop!" She heard someone shout from behind her and she knew that the officers were almost on them. She shoved a moaning corpse away from her with her foot as she tried to get towards the gate and to freedom and she smiled when she saw Noah fit through and make it to the other side. She looked to Beth and the girl was smiling too.

She took the small backpack off her back aiming to throw it closer to the gate where Nah watched desperately but she was knocked to the ground by what she could only assume was one of the officers. "Go" she mouthed to Noah as she saw how conflicted he was with leaving. Beth had been taken down too and was in a similar predicament to herself. _At least one of us made it_ Amelia thought to herself.

She wasn't jealous of him, she was proud.


	4. Chapter 4

Amelia and Beth were sat in Dawn's office. Joan's corpse and Gorman had been removed and the latter had yet to wake up from being knocked out. The glass had been cleared and the blood had been mopped away. If it hadn't been for the missing glass bottle Amelia would be inclined to think nothing had even happened in there. Dawn was yet to arrive and there were two male officers guarding the door. Amelia scoffed at their stiff stances and blank expressions.

"We are in deep shit" She said under her breath, hoping Beth would hear her. Beth giggled slightly in reply. "I haven't felt this scolded since I was 10 and my dad shouted at me for hitting my younger brother and making him cry." Beth gave a louder and longer chuckle at that and Amelia smiled to herself, happy with cheering the girl up. Within a couple of seconds however, the younger girl's expression turned into one of sadness.

"We were so close." She whispered looking over to Amelia. "I could almost feel the hug I was going to give my sister when I found her." Amelia reached out and held her hand, knowing exactly how she must have been feeling. Although she didn't have anyone on the outside of that gate, she did used to have a brother and sister and she knew what it had felt like when she'd lost them.

"We'll get out of here. We will." She repeated, mostly to convince herself. She felt like she had been inside Grady for almost half her life and she had begun to feel hopeless about ever leaving. "Maybe Noah will find a group and he'll bring them back here." The words did little to convince her that she would ever leave but she needed to help Beth feel hopeful. The girl was strong but she just needed a little bit of help now.

"Maybe. Daryl will be looking for me too." Beth added and Amelia smiled to herself. Beth was regaining hope and she was happy for the girl. She had only known Beth for almost a week but it felt like the girls had been friends for way more than that, a common occurrence for people who have to survive together. Much more common in the new world.

"Daryl huh? He your boyfriend?" Amelia teased, smiling at the girl who shook her head but her cheeks turned pink. "Daryl and boyfriend are two words that don't go together." Beth snorted, reminiscing about the man she had come to care so much about. Amelia stayed quiet allowing Beth to get lost in her memories, and eventually Beth began describing what he had been like. She described him as surly and practically incapable of showing an emotion such as love or happiness when she had first met him. "The man had a scowl pretty much tattooed onto his face" Beth laughed. "I was with him for a while, just me and him, after the place we'd been staying had been attacked. That was when we grew really close" Beth's face turned solemn as she remembered the events of that day, the day she had watched her father be butchered and the time she had spent with Daryl following that. Watching him laugh and holding him when he cried. Amelia knew that the two people had formed a bond, she could tell from the way Beth had spoken about him and she knew that this man cared just as much about her.

"He sounds nice" Amelia said as an attempt to create less tension and Beth simply laughed nodding her head. "Eventually he is." She giggled.

"My brother was like that for a while. Didn't smile for a year. Just constant eye rolls or scowls. We all put it down to puberty." Amelia said, smiling at the memory of her brothers 'emo phase'. "My sister however was one of the most emotional people I have ever met. She would cry if something was happy. Cry if it was sad. Cry if there was a cute animal. And she cared about people way too easily. She had so many shitty boyfriends because of it." Her older sister had been one of her favourite people, except when it came to stuff like crying or boyfriends, But looking back now she would give anything to hear her cry over a cute picture of a dog one more time.

"Sounds like how I used to be. I was a mess at the start of all this." Beth laughed humourlessly and Amelia understood what she was saying. She had been unable to handle everything at the start of the epidemic. Her brother took to it like a pro probably due to all the training he had on various video games, but Amelia and her sister took time to adjust.

"Same" Amelia laughed.

"Your brother and sister, are they..."

"Dead? My sister definitely is." Amelia found it hard to say the words out loud and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. The last person she had told anything about her sister or missing brother to was Noah.

"My father was murdered in front of me and my sister. Guy called himself the Governor." Beth said. Her time spent with Daryl, and the crying she had done over her father's death had helped her heal to the point where she could talk about the bad stuff that had taken place at the prison. Amelia huffed a little laugh and whispered "What a pretentious prick." Beth nodded and laughed slightly too.

The two girls sat there talking about their past until Dawn came in an hour later. The mood in the room changed dramatically. "Well it is nice that you could join us Dawn, have a seat" Amelia remarked with a sarcastic tone. Dawn was less than impressed and simply smacked her across her face, causing the cut on her cheek to open and bleed slightly.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" She shouted at the two girls. She was fuming with anger and Amelia's remark had only increased it. "Which one of you attacked my officer?" She demanded. Amelia simply smirked. Out of all the things she had done, hitting Gorman across the head was one of her proudest moments.

"He attacked her. Just like he attacked Joan. Just like you let him." Beth snarled. Her eyes were determined as she stared the woman in charge down. Dawn faltered at her remark and this urged Beth on with her tirade. "You know what's happening here and you let it happen. You're letting it happen. So that we make it. No one's coming, Dawn. No one's coming. We're all gonna die and you let this happen for nothing." This earned Beth a slap of her own but the girl remained smiling. She had dealt with worse people before. The two girls were left under supervision for the rest of the day.

The next day saw Amelia sweeping floors joined by Beth. They didn't have anyone watching them because most of the officers had gone out somewhere. "Probably to recruit" Amelia had muttered when Beth had mentioned the lack of people. The two talked aimlessly about people they had met since the outbreak and Amelia was describing a man called Robin whose weapon of choice had been a spear when there was a commotion down the hall. A new patient. It wouldn't have been a big deal if Beth hadn't whispered "Carol."


	5. Chapter 5

"Carol"." Beth whispered breathily. Her features were a mix of worry and happiness. Beth had spoken about a woman named Carol briefly during their talk, she had mentioned that Daryl was relatively fond of her and that she had lost her daughter, Sophia. Amelia was speechless. The chances of a group finding each other were so small in today's world due to the lack of ways to contact someone that meeting up again was practically a miracle.

Beth rushed into the room Carol had been taken in to and Amelia decided to stay back and give the girl some privacy. This was none of her business and she knew that Beth would appreciate the sentiment. She carried on sweeping trying to squash the faint feeling of jealousy that was beginning to form inside her. She hadn't had the luck of meeting up with anyone from her old life yet. She had lost everyone almost 2 years ago and she hadn't seen anyone since. From what Beth had told her, she had only been separated from her group for just over a month when she came to the hospital and technically she hadn't been truly separated because she had that Daryl guy. It wasn't Beth's fault that she had been blessed with such bad luck.

She returned to sweeping and didn't see Beth until later that day. She looked exhausted but underneath that exhaustion it was clear that the girl was celebrating something. There was an understated energy that could be seen in the slight bounce in her step. When she sat next to Amelia in the laundry room she placed a huge smile on her face. Amelia assumed it was because her hope of escape had increased significantly. "I knew it!" She whispered, "They're coming Amelia." Her happiness was almost contagious but Amelia remembered that she wasn't a part of this group and once they'd rescued Beth then she would be left alone in Grady. Noah had gone and it wouldn't take long before Beth followed. "That's amazing" She breathed when her silence had stretched on for too long. Beth must have noticed the melancholy tone of her voice because she took Amelia's hand in her own.  
"I'm not leaving without you. You know that right?" Beth said strongly. Beth had assumed that Amelia knew that she would make sure she got out as well. Amelia almost cried with the sincerity in her eyes. This girl had become one of her closest friends, the two girls had spent hours since Noah's escape simply growing closer to the point that Amelia would even consider staying with her if they ever got out.

"Would your family accept that?" Amelia asked with apprehension. As much as she wanted to leave, she didn't want to intrude in someone else's group. She knew what it was like getting new people and sometimes new people only meant trouble. If Beth's group decided they didn't want to risk trusting her then she would understand.

"They should. I won't leave without you. So if they want me then they have to accept you."

The next day Amelia found herself wishing for a different set of chores and knew that with Noah gone, there may be an opportunity for her to get a change. Upon entering Dawn's office she realised that she had intruded and made a huge mistake as Gorman was sitting in the chair opposite Dawn, a large bandage around his head. He looked much less frightening and she tried hard not to laugh or smirk. They both looked towards her as she entered. Dawn's face was full of apprehension and Gorman's eyes held the promise of revenge. Both expressions did little to quell the increasing sense of fear that had crawled up her spine upon entering.

"I'm sorry. I'll come back later" Ducking her head she went to exit but Dawn stopped her. Turning around at Dawn's request, Amelia sensed that there was something going on. There was an uneasy tone in Dawn's voice and it made the fear inside Amelia only increase.

"What's wrong?" She asked apprehensively. Dawn glanced over to Gorman who was still glaring at the young woman and then returned her gaze to Amelia. "There's a group." Amelia's heart started beating faster, wondering if the group in question was Beth's. "What the fuck are you doing?" Gorman hissed at Dawn. His face had turned red and his darkened gaze was pointed towards the leader of Grady. Dawn returned his glare with equal ferocity in an attempt to assert her weakening authority.

"This is my office Gorman and if you proceed to use such vulgar language, especially towards me, then you can leave." The two officers stared each other down until Gorman stood from his chair, spat one final 'Fuck you' towards both females and stalked out the door.

"Prick" Dawn muttered before turning to face Amelia. "This group have two of my officer's hostage." The apprehension Dawn felt was easily seen by the younger girl and she realised that the leader was struggling with the sudden threat. "In exchange for these officers they want two of our patients." Amelia didn't need any clues about which patients they wanted. They wanted Beth and they wanted Carol, the latter had made a speedy recovery since Beth had treated her yesterday. However there was still something about this situation that confused her.

"Why are you telling me this?" Amelia asked. The running of Grady had never been something Dawn had ever spoken to her about and it was strange for her to trust her with something as important as this. "You are probably the most trust worthy person in here." Dawn replied and Amelia couldn't fault her on that. Between The officers who all wanted her dead and the two patients that belonged to the group posing a sudden threat, she was the only one who would appear to have an unbiased view on the whole situation.

"Do you want my advice or something?" Amelia raised an eyebrow and waited for the reply.

"It wouldn't hurt." Dawn replied with a glimmer of humour in her voice. Her head was now resting in her hands with her elbows placed on the table. She looked defeated and Amelia knew she could be easily swayed.

"I think you should take the offer." Dawn raised her head with a sceptical expression. "What's more useful to you? Two easily replaceable patients, one of which might not even be able to walk for a few days, or two officers who would be able to bring in more patients to replace those that you lose?" Dawn seemed hesitant to accept the girls answer but Amelia knew that her final argument would be the one that tipped the scales in her favour.

"Also, do you really think these people are just going to accept you refusing their offer? You think they'd have risked all that they have to just accept no for an answer? If you want to keep this place going, and keep everyone within it alive, it's probably best you avoid conflict such as that." Dawn simply nodded and Amelia knew that she had convinced the woman, she didn't need verbal confirmation and with that she simply walked out forgetting about her prior intentions of getting a new chore. She heard the distinct sound of Dawn speaking into her walkie-talkie and she smiled to herself. Beth and Carol would be out of here by tonight and even though she'd still be stuck in this hell hole for a little while longer, she couldn't find it within herself to be jealous.

Beth found her an hour later whilst she was sweeping the floors of the officer's ward. She was dressed in her own clothes, Amelia noted, but they were cleaner than they had been upon her arrival. Beth was grinning almost ear to ear and she almost took Amelia off her feet when she ran to hug her.

"I told you!" She exclaimed joyfully. "Dawn said they could be here any minute so I came up here to come get you." Amelia had no idea why she would need to be present, she would much rather stay sweeping than watch one of her closest friends leave her again. She remembered the promise Beth had made, about not leaving her, but the circumstances were somewhat different to what she had expected and she couldn't rely on Dawn to just let her walk free as well. She was already losing too much in her eyes and to lose a patient who was actually capable at doing everything that needed doing, would be too much of a loss.

"Beth," She started softly but was cut off by the girl's intensive glare.

"Don't Beth me Amelia. You have to come. I promised you and there is no way I'm going to break that promise. I can't leave you." Her voice had gradually lost strength and Amelia's heart broke at how desperately she wanted to agree to with her.

Before the girls could exchange any more words, a deep male voice interrupted them. "Dawn wants you downstairs. Now." He glared pointedly at Beth and the girl was about to retort but Amelia simply nodded her head at her. _Please Beth, don't be an idiot and try to stop this. Just go._ She pleaded with the girl in her head.

"I promise I'll be there in a minute. I need to get my stuff remember." _Not that there's much of it. Not that there's a chance I'm going to be allowed to go with you._ The stubborn blonde eyed her warily before nodding and leaving the ward. Amelia sighed before glaring at the officer who was still only a few feet away from her. "You can piss off now, pin dick." She muttered angrily. She had not gotten over how he had treated her the other day and the bruising on her body that made her ache when she spoke or walked only reminded her of this. Her cheek still stung like a bitch.

Amelia realised her idiocy the second the comment had left her mouth. Dread filled her stomach as the officer stormed over to her, grabbing her roughly and pulling her to his own room. _Well done you stupid cow._


	6. Chapter 6

Beth stood apprehensively next to Carol, who was sat in a wheelchair. Amelia had said she would meet her before the others came but she was nowhere to be seen and Rick and the group were already at the doors of Grady Memorial Hospital. Sensing the young girls fear, Carol reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze. Both women looked at each other and smiled slightly. In the past their group had never fared well with groups who posed a threat to their family. The governor was a perfect example of that, and Carol had been there to hear about the tales of Terminus. It was only natural the women were terrified that something would go wrong, simply because it almost always did.

"She'll be here." Carol whispered, not wanting to gain the attention of Dawn, who stood a mere two metres away. The woman wasn't sure whether the words she spoke were true but she needed to keep Beth calm.

"You don't believe that Carol." Beth muttered back and gave the woman an almost blank stare. There was fear in her eyes, fear because she knew what had happened last time Gorman had been alone with Amelia. The idea that she could be up there, getting hurt again, made her feel sick and if it weren't for the hand Carol had on her she would have ran straight back upstairs to her.

She didn't have time to think in it though because her family were walking through the doors towards her. She almost fell to the floor in relief when she saw Daryl, unharmed. The last time she had seen him, they were being attacked by a herd of walkers almost impossible to defeat alone.

Carol was the first to be handed over and Beth almost refused to let go of her hand. The woman was wheeled across to her family and welcomed with hugs from everyone. Beth noted the way Daryl hugged her tighter. Now it was her turn. She walked slowly past Dawn before running into Rick's arms. She was hugged by everyone else and she almost cried when it was Daryl who willingly hugged her first.

"Where's Lia?" Noah's voice was worried. His eyes were roaming the row of officers and patients where Beth had been stood only moments before. His frantic eyes moved to Beth. "Beth, where is she?" His voice almost broke and it took all Beth had to look in his eyes.

"I don't.."

"She's not part of this Noah." Dawn's voice was strong as she stared down at the young man. Her eyes then turned to Rick, whose arm was wrapped around Beth again. "You and your people can leave now. This is over."

"No!" Beth and Noah yelled in unison. They were not leaving without their friend, the girl who helped them both get freedom.

"AMELIA!" Noah screamed. He almost rushed forward but Dawn raised her gun. Simultaneously Rick's group all raised theirs. "Rick please!" Beth pleaded. "I'm not leaving without her."

"Where's the girl?" Rick's voice was menacing as he spoke. His eyes glaring each officer down. Noah was still shouting his friends name over and over. His eyes were now glassy with unshed tears.

"She wasn't part of the deal." Dawn said, her voice wavering slightly. The officer was losing control of the situation and she could feel the trust her fellow officers had in her was decreasing. "I'm sorry." She directed at Noah and she assumed her guilt was visible because he looked murderously towards her.

"Where's Gorman?" He asked, his tone low and filled with hidden threats.

Beth gasped at what Noah was insinuating and covered her mouth with her hands. Before Dawn had time to reply, footsteps were heard from behind the wall of officers. Slowly, the officers moved to give the newcomers space to walk through.

Gorman was walking and his arm was gripped around Amelia's arm. He was smirking as he looked at the distraught faces of Noah and Beth and the equally as shocked faces of Dawn and the group of strangers. "You monster!" Noah cried. He lunged forward but was grabbed from behind by Rick, leaving him to simply struggle in the man's grip. Beth had moved away, closer to Daryl. Her hands were still covering her mouth but her eyes had begun to leak tears.

Amelia's face was a mess of purple bruising and blood. Her once white hair now had streaks of red. Her clothes had clearly been torn and the implication of that were clear. The exposed skin on her chest was equalling bruised and the girl looked too weak to stand. It was hard to see where the blood on her face coming from but it was safe to assume that it was just one cut. Gorman's face was also covered in scratches and a little bit of blood from her resistance, but that was all.

Noah continued to struggle against Rick, screaming obscenities at the officer who had decided Amelia was a perfect punching bag. His anger only made the scene more enjoyable for the sick man. Amelia's heart broke at the sight of her best friends anguish. She didn't want to be the one to cause him that much pain. When she looked over to Beth she felt equally as heartbroken. The girl had been reunited with the hunter she had spoken so fondly of, and that was the only thing that made the whole situation easier.

"Is that what you do to people?" Risk asked. His voice was lower than she expected but it was sterner than anything she had ever heard. He looked angry, fuming even. His gun was aimed at Dawn and the man stood by Beth has his gun trained on the man that was gripping Amelia's arm in a vice like grip, unwilling to let go.

"No, I didn't…" Dawn started but was cut off by Noah calling her a liar.

"You're going to give us the girl and then we'll leave. No one will get hurt. But I can promise that if you refuse, there's a bullet here for each and every one of you." He looked at each officer in turn and when his eyes landed on Gorman, Amelia felt the man physically tremble in fear. But as much as she wished she could be happy with the fact that these people were going to rescue her as well, she couldn't allow people to be hurt in the crossfire. It wasn't worth it, she thought. She managed to lock eyes with Noah across the corridor. She shook her head at him, telling him to stop. He almost fell to the floor in despair. "Please…" He begged. His voice broke her heart and she lunged forward, trying to be near him and Gorman temporarily lost grip of her arm. She made it a few steps forward before she felt his arms enclose around her waist and pull her against him. She cried out, wanting to be near her friend. She kicked against him, watching as Beth was held back by the guy she had assumed was Daryl and watched as Noah freed himself from Rick's grip and ran towards her.

It was chaos. Dawn looked around with her gun extended before her, pointed at Noah as he ran past her. Amelia was pushed to the ground by Gorman and Noah landed next to her. His hands reached for her, trying to pull her up. She didn't notice Gorman reaching for his gun and pointing it towards Noah.

A single gunshot filled the air.


	7. Chapter 7

Amelia gasped and watched as Gorman collapsed to the floor with a clean bullet hole in his forehead. Shuffling away from the pool of blood that was edging its way closer towards where she was lay she almost cried with relief. Gorman was dead. Another gunshot was heard but this time it was directed towards Dawn. The woman who had been one of the hostage officer's had shot her. The leadership in the hospital had changed and she didn't know if she wanted to be there to find out how everything would now work around there.

Noah helped her to her feet, but she never took her eyes off the wall of officer's before her. She looked towards the new woman in charge. "Go." The woman said. Her tone was one that held authority and Amelia was more than happy to oblige. Crying with relief she allowed herself to be dragged down the corridor by Noah, who refused to let go of her, his arms secured around her waist.

When the group finally reached the doors to exit, Amelia watched as Beth finally moved from Daryl's side and run towards one of the women who was waiting outside. She had short brown hair and a naturally beautiful face. A young Asian guy stood close by. Amelia felt her heart tighten as she watched the two women cry into each other's arms, smiles stretching across both of their faces. She stood back as she watched the people of the group reunite. These people were close, she could tell. There were only 5 people Beth appeared to be hesitant with. A ginger man who looked absolutely terrifying, a guy with a mullet, a dark skinned priest and two dark haired women. Beth smiled at them all tentatively.

Watching Beth reacquaint herself with her family made Amelia's heart ache. It had been so long since she had been around people who clearly loved each other. She remembered when the whole apocalypse had started and she had been with her family for a while. Things had changed now though. Looking around at Beth receiving hugs and Noah speaking to the Asian guy almost like they were brothers, she felt like an outcast. She looked back at the hospital doors, contemplating whether being trapped in there had been a bad thing after all. She felt more alone now that she had her freedom than when she had been a prisoner. Plus Gorman was dead now, so she would be safer than she had been before if she were to go back in. _I have left my bag in there too…_

She looked back at the smiling faces of the group that had come to rescue Beth and Carol with a heavy heart. Noah would be pissed, she knew that much. Beth might get a little bit upset but she wouldn't realise she hadn't gone with them until much later when the welcome back hugs had finished. No one else would bother with her. Her face stung and the drying blood on her face was beginning to cause a little bit of discomfort. Her ribs ached from Gorman's earlier onslaught. In fact her whole body ached, having not quite recovered from the beating she had taken a couple of days before. If she were to walk back through those doors then she would be able to recover fully.

She watched as Daryl hugged Carol and started fussing over her. She watched as Carol laughed lightly and swatted his arms away. She watched how they spoke to each other but she also saw the concerned looks he would throw over to Beth. The guy had a heart, and a soft spot for these two women. Amelia almost snorted, obviously he would have a soft spot for Beth. She was beautiful and had one of the kindest souls this world would see. She was (almost) untainted, much like an angel. She radiated love and positivity and it was hard not to like her. She didn't know much about Carol, but she assumed she must be pretty special too. She longed for that kind of affection.

Amelia realised the direction her thoughts were going. She couldn't risk staying with this group on the off chance that they _may_ start to care for her. She had risked it all with a group of strangers before. The biggest mistake she had ever made. She was still unsure how she managed to make it out alive and it had happened almost a year ago. She wasn't going to let her heart make her decisions for her again. _Which is why you should walk right back through those doors Amelia._

Sighing resignedly, she turned her back on the strangers and took one step forward, back to the hospital. "Amy" Noah's voice was close and concerned and stopped her from advancing any further. Plastering a smile on her face she turned round to him. His face was masked with worry. Words of reassurance were unable to be spoken however because it was at this point that Daryl called out that they had to go.

The hunter had watched Amelia's internal struggle and the mask she applied for Noah's sake, unbeknownst to her.

 **A/N - Sorry it took a while, I have been swamped with coursework deadlines, homework and revision. Everything is crazy! But here is the latest installment and I am hoping it is satisfactory :)**


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